Profitable farming ventures in the highlands
WHEN it comes to agriculture, the land is a limiting factor in rugged regions, with towering mountain peaks. Along the gentle mountain slopes, plateaus, and valley bottoms, agriculture competes with housing, industries, businesses, and services like road infrastructures, schools, hospitals, among others.
It is not only space that limits the pursuit of agriculture in our mountainous terrains but the availability of fresh water. As the forest is cleared for all kinds of uses, the mountains lose out on their watershed capacities and ultimately provide less irrigation, potable, and industrial cleaning water.
With the foregoing, profitable farming ventures must be explored, pursued and supported.
Let me highlight some suggestions that came across my way and needs attention by farmers as well as support from the local government units (LGUs), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the academe.
In one of his visits in North Luzon, DA Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol passed by Mountain Province and Ifugao, and on towards Region 2.
I was informed that the good Secretary saw some coffee trees growing under pine trees along the mountain slopes, in Mountain Province. It may have reinforced what he had heard about coffee thriving well under pine trees.
Secretary Piñol knows that the best Arabica coffee grows in high elevations.
He has tasted Cordillera coffee too. He told his listeners that it is an outstanding coffee in terms of flavor, and taste.
While in Mountain Province, Secretary Piñol may have wondered why there is not enough being marketed around, why farmers have yet to cash in on the crop.
Secretary Piñol made a suggestion to Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan to encourage the planting of more coffee by the local farmers. He backed his suggestion with an investment of PHP 5 million, to be distributed to the municipalities at PHP 500,000.00, so they can put up nurseries where farmers can get some seedlings to grow in their backyards or in their mountain farms.
I heard that the Provincial Agriculturist of Mountain Province has passed the appropriate documents and the promised funding for the nurseries has long been transferred to them.
The report of the Province about the establishment of the nurseries and the growth of the Arabica coffee is much awaited. Even on a backyard scale, we must prove that coffee farming is one venture that highland farmers with limited landholdings can grow together. The investment has not been wasted.
On average, smallholder farmers cultivate from 500-1000 square meters of land to feed their families and send their children to school.
Vegetable and cut flower production proved to be the most viable and profitable agribusiness venture among small farmers in the highlands through greenhouse farming
This has been proven by the pioneering efforts of cut flower farmers in Bahong, La Trinidad, Benguet; and on vegetable and strawberry production by enterprising farmers like Mr. Francis Ching, of Cada, Mankayan, Benguet.
Over the years, vegetable farmers have requested assistance about their need for greenhouses. They have sent their proposals to the Department of Agriculture-CAR and also personally asked DA Undersecretary Evelyn Lavinia to help them on